Maple Memories

I am incredibly lucky to have grown up in a household where we used only real maple syrup, and not pancake syrup with lady-shaped bottles.  My brother and I were extra fortunate because my mother made us breakfast every day before school.  And whenever my mom made pancakes, waffles, or french toast, they were always served with fresh maple syrup.

While I was enjoying homemade Bisquick pancakes in the suburbs of Rochester during the week, I would spend time with my father in the farm country nestled between the Finger Lakes a couple of weekends a month.  He rarely cooked, but he had an appreciation for good food that he fostered in me from a young age.  Each February, he and I made a pilgrimage from Livingston County into the dreaded boonies of Southwestern New York State.  In the small town of Angelica, NY, is a restaurant called The Maple Tree Inn.  This tiny diner sits on a working maple farm and is open only for 6-8 weeks a year.  In the dead of NY winter, people stand in line for hours outside the door waiting to get in to eat.  The menu is incredibly simple...they only serve breakfast food and their claim-to-fame is their buckwheat pancakes.  I swear they are the most delicious pancakes I've ever had in my entire life, and they were always paired with combos of farm-fresh eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course, their very own maple syrup made in the basement of the restaurant.  It's an incredible operation.

But the last time I made it to the Maple Tree Inn was well before high school, and I had pretty much forgotten about buckwheat pancakes until about a year ago when all this food allergy diagnosis stuff was finally getting settled.  I've been searching around for a while to find a good buckwheat pancake recipe that emulates the amazingness of the Maple Tree Inn, and I've at least got a good start here:

BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES 
*note that buckwheat is NOT derived from wheat and is safe for people who can't have wheat and/or gluten products*

(serves 2 people)

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup barley flour or oat flour (see note below) 
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp canola oil or melted Earth Balance
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. organic almond milk/AF milk
1 cup organic almond milk/AF milk (you can use rice, oat, soy, hemp, or cow's if you'd like...I'm not allergic to hemp, almond, or oat so those are the milks I use)
2-3 tbsp agave syrup (start with one and add another if the batter isn't sweet enough for you)
Real grade-A maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup).  Whether drizzling on a light layer or drowning your pancakes in it, real maple syrup makes the dish so make sure you get the good stuff.  You can also enjoy these pancakes with Earth Balance if you like buttery hot cakes.

NOTE: If you have celiacs and cannot have barley or oat flour, substitute with your favorite alternative flour.  If you're not allergic to tree nuts, try out almond flour.  Otherwise, bean flour or rice flour would be appropriate, but add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if you're using a gluten-free flour.